


Puppy Love

by Jaynatrix



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky loves it tho, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Reader-Insert, Sassy Reader, You swear a lot, lotsa puppies, puppy cafe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-05 08:06:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15859623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaynatrix/pseuds/Jaynatrix
Summary: Your puppy cafe attracted many types of people. All of these people came to your cafe for two reasons: Comfort and safety.Bucky Barnes was no different.





	1. Chapter 1

You would never forget the first time you met James Buchanan Barnes.

You had just started to close up shop and start putting the puppies to sleep when you noticed a man standing outside of your cafe. You were alarmed to say the least when you saw the very shady man just standing there for a second when it was almost 8 o'clock at night. However, when you waved your hand towards the closed sign, his eyes seemed to suddenly clear up and before you knew it, he was gone. Deciding to ignore it, you doubled and triple checked that everything was locked and finally headed upstairs to get some rest.

The next morning you woke up to the sound of your dogs howling. They were your alarm clock, always going off at 7 o'clock, rarely ever missing a day and you practically lived your entire life by their schedule. You could hear the cages being opened meaning that Angelo, one of your five employees was taking them out for their morning walk and breakfast. The cafe doors would open at 8am on the dot so you took a quick shower and headed downstairs after getting dressed in comfortable clothing. 

You were able to catch Angelo with five dog leashes in hand and managed to give him a quick good morning. "By the time you finish walking all the dogs I should have some muffins and eggs hot and ready for ya."

Angelo was already out the door so all he could respond with was a yelled "you're the best!" and he was gone, pulled away by excited animals. 

Your cafe was called Puppies & Pastries and it had been running for about two years. It was a puppy cafe with two rooms: the first room for eating of course, and the second room to spend time and play with the puppies. There are 10 puppies in total and the goal was to get a puppy adopted by a family . You started it because of your love of animals and loved seeing the different faces come in to enjoys the dog's presence. 

Today was just another day and it passed by just like any other. Rush hours were always 8am to 12pm and 4pm to 8pm so during the midday there wasn't much to do. Until today that is. You, Chelsea, and Angelo - your coworkers - had just finished cleaning up after rush hour when a hulking figure entered the cafe, seemingly sucking out all the light with his entrance. He took a seat at one of the round tables which was closer to the corner and sat so his back was towards the wall.

Chelsea, your waitress with bright pink hair and an even brighter personality seemed intimidated by him. So of course, since you were the boss, you decided to take his order instead of making your obviously uncomfortable waitress do it. She mouthed a "thank you" your way and you smiled back.

 _Time to work some magic on the scary old bastard._  You donned your best smile and walked up towards the table, holding out the menu to him. "Good afternoon, sir. What can I get you today?"

His face remained cold and blank, not even bothering to glance at the menu before responding, "Whada-you suggest?"

"Well all the foods good if you ask me," I gave him another smile, "but I recommend our chicken salad sandwiches, or if you want something light we have plum muffins or-"

"The muffin. With black coffee"

You were startled with how he cut you off but kept your smile as you went to deliver the order to Maxine and Raphael. You couldn't lie and say that you weren't interested in the man in the corner. You'd never met someone with such a cold and lonely way about themselves and damn if you weren't curious as a cat. Soon enough you were heading to the table with two plum muffins and one cup of piping hot coffee. 

"Here you go! Is there anything you'd else you'd like?"

"How much is it for the dogs." His question was so rough and quiet, you're not sure you would've heard it if you weren't so interested in every move he made. 

"They're five dollars for 30 minutes and if you ask for a specific dog it's an extra two dollars." 

He looked at the glass window that led to the puppies and dug into his pocket, placing a 20 dollar bill.

"Alright sir. I'll be right back with your change-" 

"Keep it." He left no room for argument. In fact, after he said those last two words, he looked back out the window, signalling that the conversation was over. You sighed and headed back to the counter and started to clean. Chelsea was helping another customer and Angelo had gone on break so the cafe was quiet aside from the occasional pot in the kitchen. So when you looked up you were surprised to see that the mysterious man had disappeared without a trace. 

You went over to clean off the table but stopped dead in your tracks when you noticed that the man was in the puppy room. He'd gotten in there without a sound, but what was even more alarming?

He was sitting cross legged with Nappy in his lap.


	2. Chapter 2

Nappy was a 9 year old bloodhound. When you first adopted him, he was scared of everybody and everything. It took many months for him to warm up to you and even now he rarely hung around with people. He was familiar with the staff and could tolerate when children touched him. However, he treated most adult like they were his mortal enemy, which in his mind they probably were.

So to see Nappy curled up in this strange mans lap was a surprise to say the least. You were tempted to go over and say something. As you were heading over however, you noticed how serene and content both of them were. They were stuck in their own world of comfort and it would be rude to interrupt. 

You let them be and the man stayed for quite a while, just sitting in silent contemplation as he pet the bloodhounds head. Two hours later and the man was about to leave, even though he seemed reluctant to do so. Before he was able to slip out, you grabbed the puppy pen and reservation book and made your way toward him. 

“Would you like to make a reservation sir?”

“Reservation?” He posed it as a question and so you answered truthfully.

“Well you seemed to really enjoy being with Nappy and he enjoyed you as well so I thought maybe you'd like to reserve a time with him individually without so many other animals around?”

He gave a slow nod and I beamed at him. It had been so long since Rex had had another close adult companion. 

“Well you just sign your name here, pick a date and time, and then give your signature riiight here.” Your smile was stuck on your face as you waved him goodbye.

You were a nosy little shit so the first thing you did when he was out of sight was check his name. There, in small chicken scratch handwriting, was a short but unique name you were sure you'd seen before.

Bucky.

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


After that first day at the cafe, Bucky would come at least twice a week. He became a regular customer and all of my employees warmed up to him, though most of the time he specially requested you to serve him. 

It had been about a month and a half since then and you and him had grown quite close. Albeit you only knew each other's names and random little facts about one another. 

Well that wasn't entirely true.

Bucky didn't know much about you but you knew all about him. When you first learned his name it was too familiar to just let it go. So of course, after the cafe closed and you were upstairs on your couch, you looked him up. When you realized he was the winter soldier your blood went cold. For a minute you were considering asking him not to come back but a weight on your leg made you look down. Nappy sat there with pleading eyes and soft whines and I let out a loud groan. 

“Really? You like him that much?” More whining. “Oh my gosh Nap what the fuck.” But thinking about it, Bucky had never seemed hostile or dangerous. In fact, when he was around Nappy, he'd have this childlike innocence about him. 

So you sighed, gathered Nap up onto the couch, and covered him in kisses and pets. “Okay okay fine I'll let you keep your weird ass friend. I hope you know how much I love you, ya spoiled shit.” He barked in return, pleased with his triumph and settled down onto my lap.

So now Bucky was always welcome. Today he'd reserved a room with everyone’s favorite bloodhound and, once again, I was serving him. There were 2 reservations rooms filled with toys, treats and pillows and blankets of all kinds. There were 3 cameras that worked 24/7 though there was usually nothing to report. Most people went in there to fall asleep with the animals or have small moments that they would otherwise never get to themselves. 

It was a rule to always knock before entering a reserved room to give the guest time to compose themselves. When you knocked to bring Bucky his herbal tea and plum muffin, you were greeted with his face buried in the dog's hair. Bucky didn’t even stir when you whispered his order and set it on the tall navy table in the corner. Figuring he was sleeping you decided not to make too much noise as you made your exit.

You were so close to being gone when Bucky lifted his head. You waited for him to say something, understanding that maybe it was hard for him to speak what he needed to. One - no two minutes later he finally spoke up. 

“Why’s his name Nappy?”

Letting out a sigh of relief, you smiled and said - with the utmost confidence, “It’s short for Napoleon.”

“The hell? Why?” His bewildered and disbelieving glare made you bite your lip hard. But not even that could stop the laughter that bubbled out of you. It had been a while since you laughed so hard and something so simple and it felt damn good. You didn’t care enough to answer at the moment and made your way out the door.

“I guess you’ll just have to figure it out!” 

Your coworkers and customers must’ve thought you were fucking insane when you left Bucky’s room, cackling like a witch who’d just cursed her first princess. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sorta kinda not really tried Bucky's pov. Tell me how I did?

You had just shut down the cafe for the night when you heard a small rapping on the  door. You put down the broom and left the kitchen. Everything was locked so you didn’t have to worry about getting scared to death over someone being inside the small cafe. You weren’t expecting to see the same man you saw on your doorstep that night 4 weeks ago.

You quickly unlocked the three latches on the door and let him in. After quickly relocking, you ushered him to a chair and sat down with him. Bucky looked ragged, tired, and his eyes were bloodshot. You tried talking to him but he just wasn’t responding. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? Bucky, hey,” You snapped your fingers in front of his face and grabbed your hand, bending it in ways it shouldn’t. “Bucky! Bucky please hey it’s just me.” 

His eyes widened ever so slightly and he let go of your hand like he’d been burned. He looked unbelievably terrified and you couldn’t help but feel bad for him. You let out a deep breath and stood up. Bucky kept his eyes trained on you and you ever so slowly reached for both of his hands. You had him stand and follow you up the stairs to your small studio apartment. 

“It’s okay. It’s my home, and I promise I won’t hurt you.”

* * *

 

Bucky was baffled. How couldn’t he be? He’d just hurt you, almost broken your wrist, and most likely left an ugly bruise, No normal person would have then proceeded to invite him into their home, but you did. Your apartment was cute, rustic, and felt ‘homey’ in every sense of the word. You sat him on the blush couch and as soon as he sat down, Napoleon trotted over and practically fell in his lap. 

Bucky’s body almost instantly relaxed into the couch. He’d always had a soft spot for animals and they held a special place in his heart. Animals had almost no hatred in their heart. They didn’t betray you, use you, or try to hurt you unless they were protecting their young. He didn’t know when but eventually he’d grown to love animals more than humans. Only animals could calm him so quickly. So when he found Puppies & Pastries, he thought he’d found a goldmine. He’d never thought he’d meet such nice people, or find a place that was so welcoming and warm. 

Bucky must’ve been lost in thought because the next thing he knew, you were back with two mugs in hand. You handed it to him with that warm smile you’d shown him every time he came to meet the puppies and dogs. He scrutinized the cup of dark liquid. Bucky hadn’t taken anything from any stranger in a very, very long time. 

“It’ hot chocolate with whipped cream, cinnamon, and a little salt.” She smiled, obviously pleased with herself as she took a sip. Bucky watched her as he cautiously drank from the mug as well. It was unexpectedly delicious and after minutes of drinking in silence, she set her mug down and turned to him. She crossed her legs and waited expectantly. Bucky softly whispered her name and bowed his head. 

“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to hurt you the way I did.” 

She waved her hand dismissively. “What happened? Why’d you come here? Are you in danger and do you need help?”

Bucky couldn’t help but smirk at that. This small, kind woman was practically offering to help him through whatever was happening. He knew that she couldn’t ever save him, not from who he was running from and not from himself. However, it was a pleasant thought to know she cared enough to ask him. 

“I just couldn’t stay where I was. I thought of the dogs and…”

“And you found yourself here before you realized it.” 

“Yeah that’s the long and short of it.” 

She stood up and Bucky knew it. He didn’t know what he was expecting. No sane person would ever let a seasoned assassin stay in their house. You left the room into what he could only guess was your bedroom. When Nappy pressed his nose to Bucky’s cheek, his eyes eyes softened and he pet the old dog’s head. He buried his face in the pets shoulder and let out a deep sigh. You returned with multiple blankets and pillows, plopping them on the floor and throwing a change of clothes at him. Bucky caught them without looking up and let one eye glance out from under his long hair.

“What’s this for?”

“You’re spending the night, silly.”

“What?” Bucky was dumbfounded by the idea. 

“Do you want to go back to where you just came from?” Silence. “Exactly. Those clothes should fit.”

“Your ex’s?” Why did he ask that?

“No they’re mine. I like wearing large clothes to bed.” She gave a sheepish smile and fidgeted it with the hem of her shirt. Bucky had made her uncomfortable. Before he could say anything, she smiled and took his now empty mug. “Get comfortable however you want. I wish I could give you  a better place but you know.” She shrugged her shoulders and, from the sound of it, put the cups in the sink. She made her way to her bedroom and bid Bucky goodnight.

(Y/n)?” 

“Yes Bucky?”

“Thank you.” 

She smiled softly and slowly shut the door behind her.

“Good night, Bucky.”

 


End file.
